Five Safety Features For A Teen’s First Car

Being a parent of a teenage driver can be nerve-wracking, particularly when the National Center for Health Statistics names motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds. If you’re a worried mom, you can implement several safety features that will help keep your child safe on the road. These devices and apps will help prevent most types of vehicle accidents, making them necessary safety features for a teen’s first car:

Virtual Teen Driving Coach

A personal driving coach can be a great way to encourage safe driving, but instructors can be expensive and won’t always be there every time your child gets behind a wheel. MOTOsafety is a virtual driving coach, specifically designed for teens. This small and easy to install GPS tracking device monitors a teen’s driving behavior and offers a score at the end of each session. It can track speeding, acceleration and harsh breaking to give you a better idea of how well your child is driving. You’ll also receive updates on your teen’s location and be alerted when your child safely arrives to his or her destination.

No Texting App

DriveScribe is a free smartphone app that combines safe driving with a points-based rewards program, giving your child a higher sense of responsibility while driving. Automated reminders help keep teens’ eyes on the road and performance is impacted by traffic violations and excess speed. DriveScribe’s message-blocking technology also forbids young drivers from reading or sending text messages. After each trip, a Safe Driver Score will be calculated and redeemed for points. These points can be used for free gift cards or store discounts.

Autonomous Emergency Braking

Forward-collision warnings and auto-brakes are common in newer models. Look for vehicles that come with this important safety feature, which can prevent or lessen the impact of a car crash. This system only activates when it’s too late for your teen to impede a crash by braking forcefully. If you can’t afford a new car with these features, research mid-size used cars on Kelley Blue Book. A vehicle like a 4-door sedan is small enough to maneuver, but large enough to offer protection during a crash.

Reverse Backup Sensors

Some automobiles already come with built-in reverse backup sensors. For vehicle’s that don’t have this safety feature pre-installed, AutoSonar offers reverse backup sensor kits that can help your teen with this tricky driving maneuver. These sensors can prevent many unfortunate accidents when backing up is unavoidable (when backing out of a driveway, while parallel parking, during three point turns, etc.). An LCD, along with an audible alarm, will warn young drivers when they are about to collide with an object.

Side View Assist

With side view assist, your teen can make lane changes more safely. Like reverse backup, this system uses ultrasonic sensors to detect nearby cars while driving. Whenever a turn signal is on, the side view assist will activate and warn teens if a car is in the next lane. Side view assist can be installed onto vehicles through a series of sensors that are placed on the sides of the front and rear bumpers. This new technology could make blind spots a thing of the past.